The Bolshevik Revolution

In March of 1917, the repressive and corrupt rule of Czar Nikolas II had been overthrown by a coalition of forces who were demanding change. The new provisional government, led by Alexander Kerensky, wanted to keep Russia in the war and fight against Germany. However the war had taken a hefty toll on the Russian soldiers and civilians, and many now did not want to fight in the war any longer. A new group emerged, called the Bolsheviks, that were led by V. I. Lenin who became very popular by promising "peace, land, and bread". They began plotting to seize power from the government. The Bolsheviks believed in the teachings of the German revolutionary Karl Marx, emphasizing the inevitability of class struggle and the replacement of capitalism by communism.

Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution

In November of 1917, the Bolsheviks took control of the Russian government. In March of 1918, the new Bolshevik government negotiated a separate peace treaty with Germany, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The Allied Power had now lost a military ally and now a possible massive shift of German troops to the Western Front now loomed over their heads. As the civil war continued in Russia, British and French leaders wanted to help the counterrevolutionary forces overthrow the Bolshevik regime and reclaim military supplies sent that were used against the Germans.

A march supporting the Bolshevik Revolution

President Woodrow Wilson refused to recognize the authority of the Bolshevik regime. Bolshevism was a threat to the liberal-capitalist values the Wilson believed to be the foundation of America's moral and material power, and that provided the basis for the Fourteen Points. However, Wilson at first resisted British and French pressure to intervene in Russia, citing his commitment to national self-determination (the right of a country to make its own decisions about government and allegiance without external pressure) and noninterference in other countries' affairs. However, Wilson's idealistic support for self-determination had succumbed to the demands of international power politics. Eventually, some 15,000 American troops served in northern and eastern Russia, with some remaining until 1920. They stayed for two reasons: to counter Japanese influence, and to aviod alienating the British and French, who opposed withdrawing from Russia.

Russian Propaganda

In March of 1919, Russian Communists established the Third International, or Comintern. It was intended to fight "by all means, including armed force, for the overthrow of the international bourgeoisie and for the creation of an international Soviet republic as a transition stage to complete the abolition of the state. This call for worldwide revolution deepened the Allies' mistrust, and the Paris Peace Conference essentially ignored the new political reality posed by the Russian Revolution.